# Writing in a second language, or with dyslexia

Use AI as an editor of your own draft, keep your meaning and your voice, and know what to do if a detector flags you.

Guides · v1.1 · draft · https://hayzlabs.com/guides/second-language-and-dyslexia/

In short:
- Write your draft first, then ask for corrections, not a rewrite, and tell the assistant to keep your meaning and voice.
- Read the list of changes and reject any that add a fact, a number or a feeling you did not write.
- Keep your own draft and the edited version with dates, since they show your process if a detector flags you.

> [!NOT ADVICE]
> This guide is about writing habits. It does not decide what your school, publisher or employer allows, and it is not legal advice. Read their rules on AI first. If you are accused of misconduct, ask for the written process and for a person to review it, and take serious cases to a qualified adviser.

## Short answer

If your ideas are stronger than your spelling or your English grammar, AI can help with the surface of your writing: spelling, grammar, wording a native reader would find unclear, tone and structure. Write first, ask for corrections and not a rewrite, read the list of changes, and keep both versions. The risks are that it changes your meaning or voice without asking, and that AI detectors (tools that guess whether text was written by AI) wrongly flag writing by people who use English as a second language. The routine below is our suggestion.

## What it changes without asking

In a study of 118 people in India and the US (CHI 2025), AI writing suggestions gave Americans larger productivity gains than Indians and "led Indian participants to adopt Western writing styles, altering not just what is written but also how it is written" ([Agarwal, Naaman & Vashistha](https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11360), randomised study). In a user study of 19 adults with dyslexia, an AI email aid's "Rewrite my selection" was rated most useful (5.26 out of 7), but rewrites sometimes added content, some found its summaries "sterile", and users met too many suggestions ([LaMPost](https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.02308), user study, 2022-era model).

Outside English, the help may be weaker. Native-speaker raters scored 600 chatbot answers to 200 business questions lower in Arabic, and slightly lower in Chinese, than in English on completeness, relevance, actionability and creativity ([Koo, Scientific Reports](https://carey.jhu.edu/articles/are-non-english-speakers-disadvantage-when-it-comes-ai-business), reported by a university). Check harder outside English.

## Use it

> [!OUR RULE]
> Write first, in whatever language is fastest for you. Ask for corrections, not a rewrite. Read the list of changes before you accept the text. Keep your draft and the edited version.

Paste this with your draft:

```text title="Correct, don't rewrite · v1.0"
Here is my draft. Fix spelling, grammar and wording that a native reader would
find unclear.
Rules:
- Keep my meaning, my order of points and my voice. Do not add facts, examples
  or feelings I did not write.
- Keep any words from my own language or culture that I used on purpose:
  <KEEP_WORDS>.
- Give me the corrected text, then a list of every change that alters meaning
  or tone (not spelling fixes).
- If a sentence is ambiguous, ask me instead of guessing.
Draft:
<DRAFT>
```

Replace the following:
- `<KEEP_WORDS>`: words you used on purpose, such as `ubuntu, harambee`, or `ask me`.
- `<DRAFT>`: your draft, with names and private details removed (see [What not to paste](https://hayzlabs.com/start/what-not-to-paste/)).

> [!CHECK]
> Reject any change that adds a fact, a number or a feeling you did not write. Then read the corrected text once against your draft.

Three more habits:

- **Write in your first language, then translate.** For anything important, draft in the language you think in. Then ask for a translation into plain English at the register you need, such as a polite email to a landlord, and ask it to flag any phrase with no direct equivalent. Read the result back against your draft.
- **Keep two files.** Save `draft-mine` and `draft-edited` with the date in the name, or use version history. If anyone runs a detector on your work, a dated draft and your edit history show the process, and no detector score can.
- **For dyslexia.** Ask for one rewrite and not options. Ask for short paragraphs. Dictate the first draft if that is faster. Use read-aloud to check the final text by ear, and scan the change list for added facts before you send.

## If a detector flags you

Seven AI detectors wrongly flagged on average 61% of TOEFL (an English test for non-native speakers) essays written by people ([Liang et al., Patterns 2023](https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.02819), peer-reviewed benchmark), so a flag is not proof. Ask for the written process and a person to review it, and show your two files. [AI detectors: what they can and can't tell you](https://hayzlabs.com/guides/ai-detectors/) has the full steps.

## Sources

1. Liang et al. AI-text detectors and non-native English writing, Patterns, 2023. Peer-reviewed benchmark. [Link](https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.02819)
2. Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. The Koo study (Scientific Reports) on chatbot answers in English, Arabic and Chinese, as reported by the university. Peer-reviewed benchmark. [Link](https://carey.jhu.edu/articles/are-non-english-speakers-disadvantage-when-it-comes-ai-business)
3. Agarwal, Naaman & Vashistha. AI writing suggestions and cultural style, CHI 2025. Randomised study. [Link](https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11360)
4. LaMPost. An AI email aid for adults with dyslexia, 2022. User study. [Link](https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.02308)